Steam bath unit

ABSTRACT

A steam bath unit consisting of an inflatable flexible envelope attached to a cabinet, and provided with an air blower for inflating the envelope, and also a steam generator for supplying the steam environment within the envelope. Optionally the blower may direct hot or cold air into the envelope and may be controlled by control cords operable from within the envelope.

Roullier NOV. 20, 1973 STEAM BATH UNIT [75] Inventor: Henry Albert Roullier, Wallington,

England [73] Assignee: Relion Radiation Limited,

Wallington, Surrey, England 22 Filed: June 1, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 148,441

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 17, 1968 Great Britain 28,780/68 [52] US. Cl 4/164, 128/367, 128/374 A61h 33/06 Field of Search [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,581,315 6/1971 Milliner 4/164 2,311,899 2/1943 Marlowe 4/164 2,076,171 4/1937 Besuzzi 4/164 3,007,178 11/1961 Altman et a]. 4/161 3,611,448 10/1971 Dudley 4/162 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 3,509 2/1891 Great Britain 4/160 72,901 12/1916 Austria 128/367 Primary Examiner-Henry K. Artis Att0rney-Fleit, Gipple and Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT A steam bath unit consisting of an inflatable flexible envelope attached to a cabinet, and provided with an air blower for inflating the envelope, and also a steam generator for supplying the steam environment within the envelope. Optionally the blower may direct hot or cold air into the envelope and may be controlled by control cords operable from within the envelope.

7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures STEAM BATH UNIT The present invention relates to a steam bath unit of the type including an envelope for accommodating a person using the unit.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a steam bath unit which is portable in that it may easily be folded up for carrying or storing purposes and may be rapidly and simply erected.

It is a further object to provide a steam bath unit incorporating means for drying the body of an occupant without the need to step outside the envelope.

Yet a further object of the invention aims at providing a steam bath unit in which the temperature and humidity can be controlled by an occupant while completely enclosed from the neck down by an envelope.

According to the present invention we provide a steam bath unit comprising a control cabinet, a flexible inflatable envelope for enclosing a human body and having an aperture for receiving the neck of a body within the envelope, and a conduit to lead steam from said cabinet to the interior of said envelope, and a blower communicating with the interior of said envelope, said control cabinet including a water tank and a steam generator communicating with said conduit.

A rigid housing may be provided to which the inflatable envelope is attached, and this housing may conveniently be in the form ofa second cabinet having a door to which the envelope is attached, and which hides the envelope from view when in its closed position. Preferably the door of the cabinet is hinged along a lower edge, so that when opened it constitutes a platform supporting a base of the envelope.

The blower may preferably be situated in the control cabinet, and a heater may also be provided to enable air passing through said blower to be heated. Suitably, means may be provided for controlling the operation of the heater and blower and of the steam generator, operable by a person using the steam bath unit. Such control means may take the form of one or more control cords passing from the control cabinet into the steam enclosure, terminating at a suitable point to be grasped by the hand of a person in the steam enclosure. The cords may pass sealingly through tubes provided between the control cabinet and the steam enclosure, so that no steam is lost at the point of entry of the cords into the steam enclosure.

Conveniently the control cabinet may be located vertically above the steam enclosure, there being a space between the control cabinet and the steam enclosure suitable for accommodating a horizontal shelf, constructed for example of plate glass.

In order that other objects and advantages of the present invention may more readily be understood, one embodiment of a steam bath unit in accordance with the invention will now be described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective .view of one embodiment of bath unit in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of an electrical circuit suitable for use with a bath unit in accordance with the invention.

The bath unit comprises a main cabinet 11 having an inflatable envelope 14 attached to its interior, and a control cabinet 1 which has doors 2 and is of rectangular-section box shape enclosing a removable water tank unit 3 and a rectangular-section steam generator 41 of galvanised iron or aluminum. Leading from the base of the water tank unit 3 to the steam generator 4 is a conduit 5 constructed of a plastics material for feeding water from the tank 3 to the steam generator 4. The water is introduced into the steam generator by way of a drip feed mechanism similar to that used in conventional paraffin heating stoves.

In one corner of the control cabinet 1, is an air blower and heater unit 6 for blowing either cold or warm air into the top of the main cabinet 11, for example to inflate the envelope 14. A bi-metallic thermostatic steam control switch 8, similar to a conventional electric oven thermostat, operated by ON and OFF cords 9 and 10 respectively is located adjacent the air heater and blower unit 6. A heater On-Off switch 51 and a blower control switch 52 (FIG. 2) are also located adjacent the heater-blower unit. A protective cover 7, removed in FIG. 1 for the sake of showing the heater and blower unit 6, is used to close the compartment containing the air blower and heater unit and the adjacent switches 51', 52' and 8, and prevents the ingress of steam thereto from either the upper steam generator compartment or the space outside the control cabinet 1.

The main cabinet 11, located directly vertically below the control cabinet 1, is also of rectangularsection box shape and has one face made up of a panel 12 hinged to the cabinet 11, the hinges being disposed along the straight horizontal lower edge 13 indicated in FIG. 1. When in a position closing the main cabinet 1 1, the panel 12 lies in a vertical plane and hides the steam envelope 14 from view.

The inflatable envelope 14 is a plastics bag whose walls define the volume in which steam is confined during use of the steam bath unit. An aperture 15 is located in an upper part of the plastics envelope l4, and is of a size suitable for accommodating the neck of a person using the bath unit. The base of the envelope 14 is attached around the periphery of a rectangle on the uppermost face of the open panel 12 as shown in FIG. 1. The envelope 14 is also attached to suitable points within the main cabinet 11 so as to be held in position and prevented from becoming separated from the main cabinet. Extending from the aperture 15 symmetrically down a front surface of the envelope 14, is a sliding clasp fastener 16 which terminates at a point 17 near the base of the envelope.

A steam conduit 48 from the steam generator passes upwardly, and then horizontally to link up with a vertical conduit portion 21 passing downwardly through a central partition of the control cabinet and the conduit 21 extending vertically downwardly through the top wall of the main cabinet 11. The conduit 21 extends down as far as the base of the envelope where it branches at a T-piece fitting into two oppositely horizontally extending flexible conduit portions 22, 22', which extend away from the base end of the conduit 21, almost to reach the side walls of the envelope 14. The conduit portions 22, 22' are of a corrugated construction rendering them flexible in both the torsional and flexural modes. At the ends of the conduit portions 22, 22' remote from the conduit 21 are right-angled pipe connections 22a, 22b, communicating with further conduits 23, 23' extending forwardly along the panel 12, away from the hinged end of the panel and towards the remote end 24. Near said remote end 24 of the panel, the conduits 23, 23' are provided with further right-angled connections 25, 25 communicating with short equal length conduits 26, 26 which extend perpendicularly from the plane of the hinged panel 12. A conduit 27 links the upper ends of the conduit lengths 26, 26' by means of further right angled connections 28, 28, so that the conduit 27 lies horizontally in all positions of the hinged panel 12.

The entire conduit system described above, comprising the conduit 21, the conduit portions 22, 22', the conduits 23, 23, the conduit lengths 26, 26 and the conduit 27, lie within the volume occupied by steam when the steam bath unit is in use, this volume being defined by the plastics bag 14.

The conduits 23, 23 are perforated along their length, so that steam is able to pass into the steam enclosure. The flexibility of the corrugated or ribbed conduit portions 22, 22' enables the conduits 23, 23' to pivot freely when the hinged panel 12 is opened and closed.

An air conduit 55 passes downwardly from the heater-blower unit 6 into the top of the main cabinet 11 to open into the steam envelope near the neck of an occupant when the bath unit is in use. Thus the blower may be generated to blow cool air into the neck" region of the envelope to maintain the flexible envelope 14 in an inflated state. By so doing, it can be ensured that the more dense cool air in the neck region prevents escape of the warmer, and therefore less dense, steam-laden atmosphere in the lower parts of the envelope.

Two rigid chromium plated support tubes 29, 30, of equal length, extend upwardly from the upper wall of the main cabinet 11 to the lower wall of the control cabinet 1. The tubes 29 and 30 are closed by the respective walls of the cabinets 1 and 11 so that no steam can be lost at the junctions between the tubes and the cabinets. However, as shown in FIG. 1, the previously mentioned heater-blower control cords 9 and 10 extend sealingly downwardly from the control cabinet 1 through the tubes 29 and 30, and sealingly into the bag 14 to form handle portions 9' and 10 positioned to be grasped easily by a person using the steam bath unit- ,and sitting on a seat (not shown) located within the steam enclosure bag 14 when inflated. Further control cords 9a and 10a extend downwardly from the heater switch 51' and the blower switch 52', through the tube 30 to terminate at handle portions 9a and 10a, respectively.

The control cabinet 1 is spaced from the main cabinet 11 and a plate glass shelf 31 is located within the intervening space. Collars 32 and 33 secured to the tubes 29 and 30 respectively, support the shelf 31.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of an electrical circuit suitable for use with a steam bath unit in accordance with the invention. A source of alternating current, for example the mains supply having Neutral, Live and Earth terminals shown in FIG. 2 at N, L AND E respectively, has connected to it three components in parallel. These three components are a high speed immersion heater element 50 in the steam generator 4, (shown also in FIG. 1) and the air heater 51 and blower 52 of the heat er-blower unit 6. The switches 51' and 52' control the air heater and blower respectively and are operated by the control cords 9a and 10a. A amp fuse 53 protects the part of the circuit including the air heater 51 and sold under the trade mark Formica, and the envelope or bag 14 may conveniently be made of nylon, coated with another plastics material.

When the steam control switch 8 is in an open position, steam is fed continuously into the envelope 14. On adjusting the control switch 8, by pulling the appropriate cord, the quantity of steam flowing can be adjusted to the required level. The degree of inflation of the envelope 14 is controlled by operation of the blower switch 52 operated by control cord 100.

A protection device such as a throw-out switch, used for electric kettles, is incorporated in the electrical circuitry, for protecting the steam generator element 50 against overheating if the generator 4 runs out of water for any reason.

Located between the water tank 3 and the steam generator 4 in the control cabinet 1, is the hollow control partition which houses the electrical wiring and the continuation of the steam conduit 48.

The arrangement of the various control cords 9, 10, 9a and 10a is such as to control both the entry of the steam into the steam enclosure and also the entry of hot and cold air into the enclosure, the hot or cold air being supplied by the blower and heater arrangement 6.

The provision of means for supplying hot or cold air to the steam enclosure is useful in two ways. Firstly, when a person has entered the steam enclosure and has closed the sliding clasp fastener so that the persons neck effectively closes off the interior of the bag from the atmosphere, air may be blown into the bag in order to inflate it to its full volume. Either hot or cold air can be used for this purpose and the bag will thus be supported whithout the need for additional bracing means. Secondly, air may be fed into the steam enclosure for the comfort of the person using the steam bath unit; for example, hot air impinging on the wet skin of the person using the bath unit may be used to dry the person after enjoying a steam bath. Moreover, as indicated above, the state of inflation of the envelope may be sustained by a constant stream of air (hot or cold, but preferably cold) to the neck region of the envelope.

After use, the bath unit will be cycled with warm air to dry out the steam envelope 14 after which the unit maybe switched off, unplugged from the electricity supply and then folded away for storage or portability.

I claim:

1. A steam bath unit comprising,

a. flexible inflatable envelope means for enclosing a human body;

b. aperture means formed in said envelope means for receiving the neck of a body within said envelope means;

c. a steam generator;

d. steam conduit means to lead steam from said steam generator to a location in the interior of said envelope remote from said aperture means;

e. an air blower; and

f. an air conduit for communicating air from said air blower to the interior of said envelope means adjacent said neck aperture means to maintain said envelope in an inflated state and to prevent escape of the steam-laden atmosphere from said envelope.

2. A steam bath unit as set forth in claim 1, and ineluding a rigid housing to which said inflatable envelope means is attached.

3. A steam bath unit as set forth in claim 2, wherein said housing is in the form of a cabinet having a door to which said inflatable envelope means is attached, and which door hides the inflatable envelope from view when in the closed position.

4. A steam bath unit as set forth in claim 3, wherein said door is hinged to a lower edge of said cabinet, whereby when said door is opened it constitutes a platform supporting a base of the envelope means.

5. A steam bath unit as set forth in claim 3, wherein said steam generator is located within a control cabinet located vertically above the first mentioned cabinet and is supported thereon by rigid tubes.

6. A steam bath unit according to claim 1 wherein said blower is situated in a control cabinet, and a heater is also arranged in said control cabinet for optionally heating air to be passed along said air conduit.

7. A steambath unit according to claim 5 and including a heater arranged within said control cabinet for optionally heating air to be passed along said air conduit, means for controlling said blower and the rate of generation of steam by said steam generator; and control cords passing through said rigid tubes and connected to said means for controlling the operation of said blower and steam generator, said control cords having manually operable ends disposed within said envelope means. 

1. A steam bath unit comprising, a. flexible inflatable envelope means for enclosing a human body; b. aperture means formed in said envelope means for receiving the neck of a body within said envelope means; c. a steam generator; d. steam conduit means to lead steam from said steam generator to a location in the interior of said envelope remote from said aperture means; e. an air blower; and f. an air conduit for communicating air from said air blower to the interior of said envelope means adjacent said neck aperture means to maintain said envelope in an inflated state and to prevent escape of the steam-laden atmosphere from said envelope.
 2. A steam bath unit as set forth in claim 1, and including a rigid housing to which said inflatable envelope means is attached.
 3. A steam bath unit as set forth in claim 2, wherein said housing is in the form of a cabinet having a door to which said inflatable envelope means is attached, and which door hides the inflatable envelope from view when in the closed position.
 4. A steam bath unit as set forth in claim 3, wherein said door is hinged to a lower edge of said cabinet, whereby when said door is opened it constitutes a platform supporting a base of the envelope means.
 5. A steam bath unit as set forth in claim 3, wherein said steam generator is located within a control cabinet located vertically above the first mentioned cabinet and is supported thereon by rigid tubes.
 6. A steam bath unit according to claim 1 wherein said blower is situated in a control cabinet, and a heater is also arranged in said control cabinet for optionally heating air to be passed along said air conduit.
 7. A steambath unit according to claim 5 and including a heater arranged within said control cabinet for optionally heating air to be passed along said air conduit, means for controlling said blower and the rate of generation of steam by said steam generator; and control cords passing through said rigid tubes and connected to said means for controlling the operation of said blower and steam generator, said control cords having manually operable ends disposed withiN said envelope means. 